The Morning After: Bruins return to form, crush streaking Maple Leafs

For now, all seems right with the Boston Bruins. The components that were deemed missing and the efforts that were lacking when the team started the season all showed up at once on Thursday night when the Bruins beat the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-2.

The game was all Boston, really. The team showed a full-60 minute effort, had success on the power-play and big games for many role players who had seemed be complacent to start the season. Maybe it was Shawn Thornton’s spirited bout early in the first period with Colton Orr that set the tone or perhaps the Bruins first power-play goal of the night that built the B’s confidence back up. Whatever it was, worked.

An In-Depth Inventory of the Penguins Defensemen

Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager Ray Shero wants his team to be tough to play against. On Monday morning, he invested $1.7 million in that goal by signing physical defenseman Deryk Engelland to a three-year contract extension. Engelland has just two goals and three assists in 32 games this season, but his value to the Penguins doesn’t come from the scoring department. After delivering technical beat-downs to Colton Orr and Jody Shelley, Engelland has quickly carved out a reputation as one of the league’s top enforcers.